Welcome to the forum. Glad you are here.
Chicks have certain basic requirements, food, water, warmth, space, no drafts, ventilation, and need to be kept dry. If you can supply that, you can raise them anywhere anytime. They do grow very fast so space is an important criteria.
I don't know how much you already know. Ask whatever you want on here and you will get a lot of advice. Some of us even occasionally agree. We all have different set-ups and goals, so our answers will vary a lot. Just pick what answers apply to your situation and go from there. You can get a lot of information in the Learning Center, which you can find at the very top of this page.
I also suggest three as a minimum to start with. They are social animals and three seems to work well. There are a huge number of good breeds and mixes for you. Any of the Rocks or Wyandottes, the Australorp, Orpington, Dominique, Delaware, Sussex, Easter Eggers, or Buckeyes would do you well and I'm sure I'm forgetting some. The ones I would recommend you consider is the sex links. These are cross breeds that can be sexed at hatch, usually by color or occasionally by feathers. They go by a lot of different names, Black Sexlink, Red Sexlink, Golden Comets, Cinnamon Queen, Red Stars, Black Stars, and others. It depends on what breeds are used for the parents. Since these can be sexed easily, your odds of getting all pullets are very good. They lay very well, are usually friendly with good dispositions, and are usually quite attractive.
It can be difficult to get this small a number of chicks as most hatcheries ship either 15 or 25 as a minimum shipment. The chicks need each other's body heat to stay warm during shipping. This is especially critical during the colder months. My Pet Chicken will ship only three and add a heating pad if you live in a major metropolitan area with a regional post office, basically where you are guaranteed to get next day service. They may ship as few as 5 to a major regional post office, but for most of us their minimum shipment is 8. Ideal will ship fewer chicks as their minimum is $25, not a specific number, but they will add packing peanuts (additional free chicks to provide body warmth) as they feel the weather requires. Your best bet to get 3 chicks is to talk to your local coop or feed store (
Tractor Supply is a standard) and see what their policies are, advertise on here for someone in your area to split a shipment, or try to find chicks locally. For local chicks, you can adverise on here, check Criagslist, or put up a sign in your local feed store.
Another option for you is to buy three pullets locally that are POL (point of lay). That is a pullet t hat is about 20 weeks old and could start laying pretty soon. At that age, you know what sex they are and you avoid the additional worries of brooding chicks. They will cost more than chicks, but you will not need the expense of the brooder, you avoid the higher risk of mortality period in their growth, and somebody else pays for that feed.
Anyway, that is my opinion and input. Again, glad you joined us and get ready for a fun ride.
